Josslyn Simmons, at 5’3'', has always played bigger than her frame

CHELAN— In 1975, Steven Spielberg scared the daylights out of beach bums and couch potatoes alike with his epic film which chronicled a great white shark that terrorized the citizens of the fictional Amity Island. Its special effects, iconic poster and John Williams soundtrack made millions of moviegoers remember the fierce antagonist which shared the picture’s title, Jaws. From 2019-2023, the Chelan High School girls’ basketball and soccer squads has featured a small but mighty player with a spirited style and homophone nickname of the Spielberg’s shark. Josslyn Simmons, who stands at all of 5’3'', has always played bigger than her frame.
“She goes by Jos because she’s a pretty aggressive player,” said Goats head basketball coach Nick Longmire. “If she feels like a player, she’s defending has got too many shots off of her, she takes it up a level. Her intention is to stop the player she is guarding, but when it’s kind of left unharnessed, it can get her into foul trouble and can get her on the bench.”
Simmons started dribbling the ball around age five. Her father Wade coached her at home through early frustrations. As the young girl honed her budding skills, one essential aspect of the game eluded her.
“I hated shooting the ball,” Simmons recalled. “I finally shot the ball, and I made it and then I think I shot the ball ever since and that’s where I developed the love for the game.”
One skill that Simmons didn’t have to learn was aggression. In fact, controlling her intensity has proved a lifelong endeavor. Longmire and his wife Amaris, who heads Chelan’s girls’ soccer team, moved to the area five years ago. He became an assistant with the girls’ basketball program when Simmons was an eighth grader. The two crossed paths in camps and at middle school games.
When the Longmires became Simmons’ coaches in her sophomore year, they quickly realized she possessed an overlapping strength and weakness: her passion. Often, Simmons’ temper betrayed her. In soccer that spelled yellow and red cards, in basketball, foul trouble. But the coaching couple saw something in the spirited sophomore. They looked at her characteristics and helped her to harvest the best and leave the rest.
“They have always been there for me, from a freshman to a senior,” Simmons said. They are very proud of me, no matter what I do, even if I’m a little too aggressive sometimes. They love me to death, and I love them to death.”
After she hurdled her sophomore season and became a junior, Simmons didn’t lose her feistiness, but began owning it, rather than it owning her. If she flirted with fouls, Longmire would point to his head, silently signaling her to play smartly and manage her emotions. Longmire said these feelings, if left untamed, can appear as hotheadedness, and described Simmons’ transformation as a journey.
 “She’s realized over the past year or two, ‘Hey, if I’m out there playing with this reckless abandon and not controlling my body, I’m going to find myself not on the field or not on the court because I’m in foul trouble or I’m going to get hurt,’” Longmire said. “She’s done a lot better job as a leader knowing when she has to turn it up under control verses that reckless abandonment where she’s out of control.”
At the North Central Washington Basketball Showcase held January 9 at Town Toyota Center in Wenatchee, Simmons’ fire blazed fully during less-than-ideal circumstances. The Bulldogs dominated the Goats early on. By halftime, Cashmere had more than tripled Chelan’s points with a 34-11 lead. Yet Simmons’ defense and attitude mirrored that of a State championship overtime period. Regardless of the scoreboard, she scrabbled for loose balls. She leapt for potential rebounds. She fiercely guarded her opponent. In all, her effort inversely reflected the 56-18 final score.
“I work my tail off even if I’m sick or if I’m hurt. I do not like it when people slack off or mess around,” she said. “I’m more of the intense practice type, so I want to push myself to get better for my team to get better obviously.”
The underlying burden of all prep players is the inevitable time limit. No one plays in high school forever. With her graduation approaching, Simmons has invited introspection and reflection. Hesitant to lead as a freshman, she struggled with her temper and lost her zeal for the game. Tempted to walk away, she refused to stop and persevered. She can now play calmly while remaining intense. Though her Goats career has faded to black, Simmons soccer journey will continue at Pasco’s Columbia Basin Community College next fall.  
“I was a little emotional my senior night and I miss high school soccer, but I know that I’m going to continue playing,” she said. “I’m going to miss having this team and the environment and being at Chelan High School but knowing that I’ll still be able to play the game which most people don’t normally get to do, so I try to think of the positive.”
Having witnessed Simmons’ development from brash underclassmen to confident leader, Longmire knows that his player’s passion comes a “give me the ball” mentality that will help her both in sport and in life. “At the end of the game, we’re going to put her at the free-throw line if it comes down to a game winning free-throw shot or if it’s the final PK, we have her in line to take that shot because she’s a clutch performer,” Longmire said. “That attitude and that persona which she takes on are contagious with the rest of the group and puts us in the position that everyone’s on the same page to want to go out and finish strong and put ourselves in a position to win the game.”